Justin Maiman The temperature at kickoff was -6 at Sunday's much-hyped Vikings-Seahawks game, the third-coldest NFL playoff game ever. That's pretty cold for an outdoor event, even by Midwest standards. Still, 50,000 fans braved the cold. I was one of them.

I flew out from New York to go to the game with my brother-in-law Chris and nephew Ian, both Twin Cities-based Vikings fans. Lucky for me, Chris was ready for game day with seat cushions, blankets and boxes of "Little Hotties" hand warmers.

Meanwhile, it was Ian's first football game ever. And what a first time! Thanks to the dramatic and terrible ending AND the cold, he'll remember this for a long time.

Here's what the whole experience was like beginning to end.

1/

I booked my plane ticket and packed a lot of warm clothes, including my big winter boots that almost took up one whole bag. (That's the bag in my left hand.) I knew layers would be key to withstand the freezing temps in Minnesota.

Justin Maiman

2/

When I landed at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, I noticed other people were less concerned about the cold. Did I have it all wrong?

Justin Maiman

3/

Nope. The game day temp was below zero. By kickoff it was -6 degrees. Fans walked around like zombies. Typical dress code was snow pants, horns and purple everything.

Justin Maiman

4/

These guys were giving out hand warmers for free. We'd brought our own, but we grabbed some more.

Justin Maiman

5/

We headed in to TCF Bank Stadium to find our seats, jostling and bumping into each other in our big, bulky winter clothes.

Justin Maiman

6/

I learned a few things to help stave off the cold. First step: put a cushion down on your seat.

Justin Maiman

7/

Second step: put a blanket on top. Any blanket will do.

Justin Maiman

8/

And this surprised me. Step three: put cardboard under your feet to blunt the cold of icy concrete. (I don't know how effective that really was. So I dropped two "toe warmer" packets in each boot.)

Justin Maiman

9/

Then we could sit pretty comfortably. But once the game started we never really sat down again.

Justin Maiman

10/

The key after kickoff was to keep as little skin exposed as possible. We had three hours to go.

Justin Maiman

11/

This Vikings fan was clearly a pro.

Justin Maiman

12/

So were these guys.

Justin Maiman

13/

Some fans tried to stay warm by sneaking in flasks.

Chris Petroskas

14/

That was smart because drinking beer was a problem. It iced up right away.

Justin Maiman

15/

This guy had figured out an innovative way to keep his beers from freezing: bear paws.

Justin Maiman

16/

And speaking of bears, some people just dressed up in bear suits.

Justin Maiman

17/

At halftime, lots of guys got on the floor in the men's room to re-stuff their boots with toe warmers.

Justin Maiman

18/

Overall, my toes were the only thing that ever got cold. By the 4th quarter, my nephew Ian and I were feeling pretty warm, and confident. Everything was coming together!

Justin Maiman

19/

And then just like that, it ended in typical Vikings fashion: heartbreaking (but ultimately expected) defeat.